I had my first mooncake this week – a dough covered, red bean paste filled sweet, purchased and exchanged during the mid-autumn moon festival which is being celebrated this weekend in San Francisco.

I have been prodded in the past to try something with red bean paste and have enjoyed other desserts made with the filling. So, it seemed like a perfect time to try it out. Red bean paste is sweet and earthy with a distinct “beanie” flavor, a good match for cupcakes.

I researched bean paste recipes and they all basically involved soaking, boiling, pureeing, and cooking the paste with sugar and oil. I cut back significantly on the amount of sugar and oil and liked the end result although it was less sweet and less thick than the commercial products I have tasted.

I stuck to a basic cupcake base, filled each with paste, baked them, topped them with a yummy date-pineapple cream cheese frosting and dipped each in lightly salted sesame seeds. The end result was delicious. Sweet, but a touch salty and the bean and sesame flavors shown through.

I also wanted to point out the addition of a new page on the right, baking basics & troubleshooting. Folks new to baking should definitely give it a read. And if any of you experienced folks have anything to add, please do!

Red Bean Paste

1-1/4 cups red adzuki beans
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar

1. Cover beans in cold water and soak uncovered, overnight.
2. Drain, transfer back to the pot and cover in 5 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
3. Drain and puree with a hand blender or in a food processor.
4. Press through a metal sieve. Note: This is time consuming work. The pureed beans become a thick paste and it takes some time to press through the sieve, clean off the underside, continue pressing until most of the bean puree passes through and the skins are left behind.
5. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pureed beans and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to cool.
6. After the paste has cooled, scoop out 3/4″ balls. I used a small ice cream scooper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap so they won’t dry out.

1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to mixer bowl. Add the milk and vanilla. Mix to combine.
5. Fill each cupcake paper about 1/4 full. Smooth with the back of a spoon. Press in a bean paste ball. Top with more batter until about 3/4 full. Smooth with the back of a spoon.

Note: Baking these is a little tricky as they end up a bit full. I pre-heated the oven to 375 then turned it down to 350 once I put the cupcakes in. This worked out well; I lost only one to overflow… and it wasn’t quite lost… I did eat it after all.

1. Bring the butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours
2. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy
3. Sift powdered sugar into the bowl, add vanilla, then beat until combined.
4. Add chopped dates and pineapple and stir until combined

NOTE: You can add more or less sugar to get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

Hmm, fascinating. I’m really intrigued by this partly because I’ve never had sweet red bean paste. Second the seasame seeds also seem like it comes from right field.
I think I’ll make them someday just to satisfy my curiosity.

Though I’ve never seen anything exactly like this, similar desserts are easily found here in Japan. Most popular are little sweet “pancakes” with a scoop of bean paste (called AN in Japanese), but the varieties abound. With ice cream and with jelly are also very popular.

Thanks for experimenting with redbean paste. In Singapore, we are a lil more lucky that we can easily get ready made Red Bean paste. will test them on my “traditional” mooncake lovers – my parents. I’m sure they’ll be swooning over the moon :) – Jo

After growing up in Japan, these cupcakes make me homesick!I used to take tea ceremony lessons – I can totally see mini versions of these guys being passed around! I always liked the chunky beanpaste (tsubuan) – you add some cooked beans back into the pureed paste – adds another element of texture that it awesome!

could you substitute the canned red bean paste for this with similar results? i would love to make these, they do sound so yummy. altho i am a bit leary about the pineapple, i am willing to trust your tastes!

DUDE, I used to wonder why no one made read bean cupcakes…either with red bean filling or some kind of red bean-based frosting. (pineapple is a great idea!). I guess there are already a lot of red bean based desserts out there, but everything can be CUPCAKE-IFIED! :) Your cupcakes look sooo beautiful and tasty. The sesame seeds are an awesome touch!

I’ve not tried any of your recipe but this one is screaming out to be tested. Very timely too as dates are abundant now in Malaysia, being the month of Ramadhan. Combination of pineapple and date did make me go “Huh?” Adzuki bean is also readily available.

I love red bean paste! And this is the most interesting mooncake I’ve ever seen. It’s the mooncake season and everyone is making traditional mooncakes at home. Your recipe is a refreshing change from the usual, lotus seed/ egg yolk/ snow skin version!

i really really love your taste in cupcakes. i love not-too-sweet desserts AND i love interesting applications of flavors. even though i’m stuck in a tiny nyc kitchen i’m going to try these right after i try the caramel apple ones!

Melinda, that’s a great suggestion. I lost my food mill two moves ago. The hand blender worked very well, but a food mill is a great option. I have a potato ricer as well, and I bet that would work.

And thanks for the kind words everyone. It’s just too much fun coming up with things. I was just bouncing ideas off of my husband during the morning commute. His birthday is next weekend, so I have to come up with something fantastic. Oh the pressure!

Hi,
I love your blog and your cupcakes are so unusual and creative.
How do you eat the cupcake. I find these liners a little cumbersome. You gotta tear it, and lift the cupcake out & it just seems messy.

I tried out two of your recipes today. Tasted great! Although I made a few mistakes and ended up spending 6 hours in the kitchen. I made the samoa cupcakes and left the mixer on to wash somthing ended up washing other things forgeting the mixer was still on and over mixed the batter. For the Peanut butter chocolate cupcakes i couldnt find any cooking chocolate in 6 supermarkets ended up buyin Lindt Dark chocolate and the chocolate ganache was a little lumpy therefore i couldnt pipe it and really light in color :(. Next time i will make sure that i stock up on chocolate when its in stock because it seems to be a rare comodity here in oman!

hello,
i’ve just discovered your website, and I like it very much! the pictures are beautiful and the recipes seems so good and very creative and original, i just want to test them all!
what i like also are the “tutorials” pictures.
thanks

very interesting. i love red bean paste and cupcakes, but never thought to combine the two. my mom never pushes the paste through a sieve, i guess we are used to a more rustic bean paste. the autumn moon festival is on october 6, look for a big full moon! (if it’s not foggy…)

I just got this code for the Time Out eating event on Tuesday. I went last year, and there’s a bunch of restaurants giving out free food, cool music and there’s a couple of open bars for the whole night. There’s a coupon code (TONYVIP) you enter at check out so you can get them for 20% off your tickets if you buy them before Tuesday. It’s a really fun event, and I think you get a gift bag and a free subscriptions, too.

Wah, my eyes almost dropped when I saw all these delicious little things… I’ve never had a cupcake obsession before, but I think I might have one now. :) Actually, as I’m having nothing but freetime today, I’m gonna try those matcha cupcakes, they sound like yummy, and I do think I have a box of matcha somewhere… Too bad we have different measurements for baking, I’m gonna have to try and convert them to dls and grams. I hope I won’t mess up the recipe in the progress. ^^

After living in Japan I found myself craving red bean paste in desserts, and these cupcakes are just perfect! I have a batch in right now, and I’m having trouble resisting them until they’re cooked properly!
Thank you so much for the idea and recipe

I just discovered your blog a couple of weeks ago and I absolutely love it–beautiful photos and great directions. Thank you so much for this recipe! My husband and I were in Korea last year and our favorite breakfast was a pastry filled with red bean paste. I made these cupcakes last weekend, with a few substitutions for my son, who is allergic to dairy products. They were delicious. My husband said they brought him right back to our favorite bakery in Seoul.

I just made these little cupcakes today for my Birthday tomorrow, and they are so Amazing! However, I had to use a mixture of red beans, and the adzuki bean, because no grocery store in Madison seems to sell the beans. They still turned out delicious! Thanks for this wonderful recipe!

Love reading your blog and recipes. I am inspired by your wonderful recipes and innovative way of incorporating asian ingredients to your cupcakes. Mooncakes are difficult to make and this cupcake recipe seems like a wonderful blending of Western and Eastern tastebuds. I’m definitely going to try this one, thanks for sharing and teaching!

hello! i’ve become a regular visitor to your creative, informative and beautiful website! i made the mooncake cupcakes yesterday following your recipe, and it was phenomenal! EVERYONE loved it and said it was one of the best cupcakes they’ve had. i made them with less sugar and reduced-fat butter because of diabetic concerns in our family, and they stilled turned out tasty and moist. i loved every part about this recipe. i wanted to say thank you for encouraging delectable, enjoyable and creative baking!! you’re awesome!!